How the minimum criteria of the responsible travel standard was met...

Economic responsibility

Abdet village only has a population of 100, and we employ several locals for cleaning and maintenance on a regular basis, so the income we pay is quite important to the local economy.

We advertise and encourage our visitors to buy food and provisions from the mobile shops that supply the village each week.

We have developed a rock climbing area which has encouraged more visitors to the area, not just holiday makers but residents from nearby towns. This has been done with the co-operation of the local climbing guide David Garcia. We invest over 1,500 euros in belay equipment for the new climbs. We have provided a free guide to this climbing area.

The two houses we own were renovated from “wrecks” 12 years ago using local workmen and are maintained to a good standard and in keeping with local traditions.

Environmental responsibility

Everything that is possible to recycle we do recycle.

The main source of heating is biomass fuel - wood pellet stoves – which we had installed by the local supplier, see

We have had the houses checked and certified for energy efficiency. This is something we will be investing more in. Toilets are fitted with reduce flush systems, and we encourage use of showers rather than baths. We have recently changed all lights to LED bulbs to reduce electricity consumption. We have looked into solar panels but being in a central location in the village this is not a realistic option.

Social responsibility

During our walking & running weeks we visit several habitat reserves that have been set up on the high mountains in the area, and look at how climate change has affected the valley over the last 100 years, and continues to have an affect, eg water levels in local reservoirs are currently very low, although Abdet itself has a local spring as it's source of water.

We don't have a swimming pool so in warmer weather we make use of the local community swimming pools. Our visitors often interact with the locals in the village, for instance when buying from the local mobile shops.

On our walks and runs we look at how the forests and wildlife is returning to the area, and the risks of forest fires which can be devastating if they get out of control. We are also hoping to arrange visits to the local olive co-operative in Confrides, although this is only open a few weeks each year.